Jet device for blowing yarn and process



July 12, 1966 J. F. CAINES JET DEVICE FOR BLOWING YARN AND PROCESS Filed Feb. 12, 1964 JAMES F. CA/NES INVEI\T()R. QMM

FIG. 3.

United States Patent 3,259,952 JET DEVICE FOR BLOWING YARN AND PROCESS James F. Caines, Kingsport, Tenn., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 344,364 7 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) This invention relates to a jet device useful in various processes for treating multifilament yarn. More particularly this invention concerns improvements in jet devices of the type disclosed in my co-workers US. Patent No. 2,924,868.

In my co-workers US. Patent 2,924,868, there are described several jet constructions which are useful for processing multifilament yarns in a number of Ways. That is, said jets are useful for motivating, texturing, entangling, interlocking, bulking, lofting and other purposes with the requirement of a relatively limited input of gaseous fluid to the jet for operating on the multifilament yarn passing therethrough. In recent years there has arisen interest in jets which exert less surface effects on the multifilament yarn but on the other hand produce certain internal structural changes in the multifilament yarn.

After extended investigation I have found how jets of the class indicated may be modified to render them more versatile for the treatment of multifilament yarns, particularly polymeric continuous multifilament yarn.

This invention has for one object to provide novel jets for use in processing multifilament yarns in various ways. A particular object is to provide an improved jet of the class disclosed in the aforementioned US. Patent No. 2,924,868. A further object is to provide a jet of the class indicated which is more versatile of operability. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For assistance in an understanding of this invention, reference is made to the attached drawing forming a part of the instant application. In the drawing FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view in section showing the overall jet construction. FIGURES 2 and 3 are detailed sectional views showing additional modifications of the jet exit portion of FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURE 1 there is shown in section the housing or outside shell member of the overall jet. The jet is made up of this housing in combination with the several inner members 7, 8, 11 and 12. For example, 12 comprises the entrance part of the inlet tube through which the multifilament yarn to be processed is fed into and through the interior of the jet. Such inlet tube may have positioned thereon at some convenient distance from the inlet a flange 7 for suitably positioning this tube within said housing member. The inlet tube may readily be held in position by threaded member 13 which is screwed down against the flange.

It will be noted that the inner portion of the tube 8 is spaced from the housing to provide a gas chamber 24 which gas chamber is connected to the gas supply conduit 23.

Venturi exit member 11 is positioned on the other end of the housing away from the yarn entrance. This member may be held in place in some analogous manner such as by the threaded coupling 36.

Inlet member 8 and exit member 11 are preferably separated by orifice plate 37. Since all of the aforementioned construction and parts may be the same or similar to corresponding parts and construction shown in my co-workers Patent 2,924,868 already referred to above, further description of this portion of the jet appears unnecessary.

Accordingly, attention may be turned to the lower portion of venturi member 11 by which in particular em- 3,259,952 Patented July 12, 1966 ice braces the features of the present invention. However, it will be kept in mind that the present invention involves the overall combination of all the parts of the jet in association with the portion to be presently described. As shown in FIGURE 1 around said exit venturi member 11 there is provided a suitable bustle or plenum chamber 50. Such bustle or plenum chamber is provided with a gas supply conduit 51. The gas passes from the bustle into the interior 52 of the venturi members through a plurality of passageways 53, 54. These passageways may be positioned, as shown in FIGURE 1, to discharge the gas across the direction of the yarn movement through the jet. However, as will be explained in connection with FIGURES 2 and 3 these gas discharge orifices may be positioned to discharge the gas in other ways. While in FIGURE 1 two gas orifices approximately opposed from one another are shown, several such orifices may be suitably positioned around the periphery of member 11. In further detail the venturi member 11 would be constructed about 3 to 4 inches long. It would have an angle of flare of at least 4 to 15. plenum chamber or auxiliary air chamber as anyone may wish to describe would be spaced from the extreme exit end of member 11 about 1 /2 inches. However, in some instances this bustle chamber may be positioned approximately midway of the venturi exit member 11 or at the other zones there along.

In many instances the gas pressure supplied to conduit 51 would be in the vicinity of, for example, 2 to 15 p.s.i.g. The pressure of the gas through 51 is usually about equal that supplied through conduit 23 to the preceding air chamber in the jet.

The action of the primary gas stream which enters the jet at 23 is to separate, spread out and open up the filamentary structure so that each individual filament tends to be spaced apart from its neighbors. Thus a multifilamerit yarn bundle which as it enters the jet has a diameter depending on the denier of only a few thousandths of an inch, say .010, is flared out to a diameter approximating the diameter of the venturi throat as it passes therethrough and is further flared out to nearly the diameter of the venturi exit section at its midpoint near the location of holes 53 and 54. Thereafter, the filaments tend to move together to reform into a coherent yarn bundle of smaller or somewhat greater diameter than the starting diameter of the yarn depending on the degree of tension and proportional to the tension from 1.0 to .0 gram/denier to which the yarn is subjected as it passes through the jet. That is, high tensions cause the yarn to be more compact and loop free than low or zero tensions which result in less compact yarns as described in Dyer Serial No. 400, 544.

It was reasoned that while the filaments were flared to their maximum extent at about the midpoint of the venturi exit further treatment could be most effectively carried out. That is, it should be possible to more effectively and efficiently treat separated individual filaments than a tight compact bundle of filaments. Thus when filaments are flared apart to their maximum extent, it is advantageous to subject them to further treatment by needlelike fluid jet streams as exemplified by orifice holes 53 and 54 supplied by fluid entering plenum chamber 50 from conduit 51. This secondary gas treatment will serve to produce a greater frequency of internal intermingling, entangling, interlocking of the individual filaments of the yarn regardless of whether the yarn is maintained under a small or a high degree of tension or in a substantially tensionless state.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the gas passageways or orifices 55, 56 may be slanted somewhat to discharge the auxiliary gas at an angle A of less than to the direction of yarn movement through the jet. Or as shown in FIGURE The aforementioned bustle,

3 the passageways or orifices 57, 58 may be slanted in a reverse direction to discharge against the direction of yarn movement through the jet. This angle A of air discharge relative to the direction of yarn movement is preferably within the range of 45 to 135. While two opposing orifices have been shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 it is possible to have only one orifice or a plurality of such orifices around the venturi member for a greater distribution of the gas supplied therethrough contacting with the exiting multifilament yarn.

An understanding of the operation of my jet is thought apparent to a substantial extent from the above consideration of the apparatus construction and from reference to my coworkers Patent 2,924,868 already referred to.

However, the following further brief description will be set forth as an aid to additional understanding. The multifilament yarn to be processed is fed into the entrance end of member 12. Since the jet is in most instances practically self-threading there is usually no problem in securing the passage of the multifilament yarn through the jet. As the multifilament yarn reaches the vicinity of orifice plate 37 it is acted upon by the gas introduced through 23 into chamber 24. The action of this gas supply spreads out or opens up the multifilaments. Depending'upon the gas pressure and supply thereof, the degree of opening and other effect on the filaments may be controlled. When the opened up multifilament yarn passes the further gas orifices as exemplified by 53 and 54, this secondary source of gas can act internally on the yarn because, as already indicated, the multifilament yarn has been opened up .by the preceding gas treatment. Therefore, this secondary gas treatment will serve to produce internal entangling, interlocking or twisting of the individual filaments about the individual filaments or the like action as may be desired and controlled on the interior of the yarn passing through the jet rather than on the surface of the yarn. This interior or internal action may be controlled to some extent by controlling the pressure and supply of this secondary gas as well as the distribution thereof around the periphery of the openedup yarn and by the direction of the emergence of the secondary gas against the yarn. For example, a more drastic action of the secondary gas would be obtained by discharging the secondary gas somewhat countercurrent to the direction of yarn movement such as by using the modified construction of FIGURE 3.

In further detail, in the present invention and jet by dividing the gas supply as above described, more effective treatment is accomplished on the multifilament yarn since this first gas treatment serves to open up the filaments. Thus, the secondary gas source can act very elTectively on the opened-up or flared out filaments, to accomplish various degrees of internal processing of the filaments.

For further assistance in an understanding in the present invention, reference is made to the following examples illustrating the utilization of my jet in the processing of certain polymeric multifilament yarns. These examples are for illustrating certain preferred embodiments of my invention.

Figure I Four samples of 2200 denier 16 D/F loop textured cellulose acetate carpet yarn were prepared. One sample was prepared with the jet of FIGURE 1, the second sample with the jet of FIGURE 2 and the third sample with the jet of FIGURE 3. The fourth sample was prepared using the earlier jet as shown in U.S. Patent 2,924,- 868 without the secondary air supply 51. The untreated yarn was fed to the jet by suitable feed rolls and removed from the. jet byv suitable output rolls. The output roll speed was 65 y.p.m. and the input feed roll speed was 81 y.p.m. for a net theoretical bulk or denier increase of 25% due to the looping and texturing of the yarn. The control sample #4 and sample 1 with the perpendicw lar air flow of the jet of FIGURE 1 and sample 3 with the opposed counter flow air of the FIGURE 3 jet all used 20 p.s.i.g. air pressure to obtain a stable bulk yarn with the loops firmly locked in place against removal by normal yarn processing tensions.

duce a stable loopy textured yarn. I

Example II jet was supplied with two separate sources of air, the pressure of which was controlled by suitable pressure regulae tors in the air supply lines. The primary air supply through conduit 23 was varied from 0 p.s.i.g. to 9 p.s.i.g.

in steps. At each level of primary air pressure a series of runs was made in which the secondary air supply through conduit 51 was varied from 0 to 9 p.s.i.g. in steps. The two secondary air holes 53 and 54 were inch in diameter and were arranged to intersect the longi-,

tudinal axis of the jet at about the midpoint of the venturi exit section 52. Samples of loop free yarn were collected from each test run and examined for the average distances between zones of entangled or entwined filaments in the yarn bundle. The results are summarized in the followmg table.

Primary, Secondary Entangle- Jet Air Jet Air ment Pressure, Pressure, Spacing, In.

p.s.i.g. p.s.i.g.

0 0 Over 36 0 3 26 0 5 14 0 7 11. 5 0 9 3 3 0 21. 5 3 3 11 3 5 10 3 7 10 3 9 7 5 0 9. 5 5 3 8 5 5 6 5 7 4 5 9 4 7 0 2. 0 7 3 2.8 7 5 2. 0 7 7 2. 4 7 S) 1.8 9 0 1. 8 9 3 1. 6 9 5 1. s 9 7 1. 5 9 9 1. 6

From the foregoing table, it can be seen that when only either primary or secondary maximum air pressure is used plied to both the primary and secondary conduits, howi ever, the average space between entanglements was reduced to 6", representing a substantial increase in the amount of entangled filament condition in the yarn.

This result represents a substantial improvement over the prior art jets since it means that the cost of the treatment air is substantially reduced. That is, 5 p.s.i.g. air could be used instead of 9 p.s.i.g. air in a jet having cross holes only or about 6 to 7 p.s.i.g. air in a jet having a The #2 sample made with the concurrentfiow air of the FIGURE 2 jet, howi ever, required only 12 to 15 p.s.i.g. air pressure to pro- 'Ihe yarn, denier, 38 filament bright nozzle, orifice primary supply only. It has further been determined that it is desirable to avoid high pressure air in jet treating yarn due to the noise level of high pressure jets and the blow off of the yarn finishing liquids applied to control static electricity and friction when the yarn subsequently is processed into finished fabrics.

While in the above examples we have shown the processing of cellulose acetate muitifilament yarn with air, my apparatus and process may be used on other types of yarn and with other gaseous fluids. For example, my apparatus may be used in the processing of yarns of polyester, acrylonitrile, modacrylics, polyolefins, polyamides, and the like polymeric yarns. With many of the other polymeric yarns, rather than employ air as the gaseous medium, steam or other heated gaseous fluid may be advantageously used. As indicated above, the auxiliary gas chamber 50 while on a 3-4 inch venturi exit member would preferably be positioned, for example, 1 /2 inches from the extreme exit, such chamber may be positioned at other places around said venturi member. The gas pressures used are generally within the range of 2 to 20 p.s.i.g. Other details of operation and modification are as follows:

-While the examples given have related to making loopy single end yarn and entangled filament loop free single end yarn, the jet can also be used effectively with the multiple end yarn processes for combining two or more ends of yarn without the need for ply twist or for achieving novel efiects as described in my co-workers Jacobs and Morehead US. Patent 3,113,413.

While a specific size of jet has been described in detail, it will be recognized that smaller or larger jets can be designed using similar proportions and ratios to handle smaller yarns of 40 denier and 1-0 filaments or larger yarns of 80,000 denier and 20,000 filaments or more as required.

The principles described herein can also be applied so as to enhance the operation of my co-workers Dyer and Gallagher slot jet described in US. Patent 3,081,951.

Although the invention has been described in considerable detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinabove, and as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A new jet apparatus adapted for processing multifilament polymeric yarn which jet comprises an outer housing member containing therein a yarn inlet member and a venturi exit member, the venturi exit member comprising a converging entry portion, a cylindrical throat section and a long divergent exit section in series, means for supplying a primary flow of gaseous fluid around said yarn inlet member so that the fluid contacts the yarn as it emerges from said inlet member and further means for introducing a secondary flow of gaseous fluid into the venturi member through at least one small hole located approximately mid-.way along the length of the divergent exit section of the venturi.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the orifice means for supplying the secondary gaseous fluid is located between one-third and two-thirds of the length of the divergent venturi section from the exit end of said divergent section, and the axis of the orifice is at an angle of between 45 to to the central axis of the jet, said axes being in an intersecting relationship.

3. A method of processing polymeric multifilament yarn in a venturi jet to impart changes in the yarn structure as may be desired from internal filament entanglement to and including external change of the yarns surface which comprises the substantially continuous passing of the yarn from the entrance of the jet through the jet to the exit therefrom, and within the jet, subjecting the multifilament yarn to an annular flow of primary gaseous fluid to cause the filaments to flare apart and reform together into a yarn prior to the jet exit, the improvement feature which comprises injecting at least one stream of secondary gaseous treatment fluid onto the yarn at substantially right angles to the direction of yarn movement through the jet at the location along the length of the venturi jet where the filaments are separated to approximately the maximum extent.

4. In methods of processing polymeric multifilament yarn in a jet to impart various changes in the yarn as may be desired from the internal entanglement to and including external change of the yarn surface which comprises the substantially continuous passing of the yarn from the entrance of the jet through the jet to the exit therefrom, within the jet between said entrance and exit in two axially separated zones subjecting the multifilament yarn to an injected gaseous fluid such as air at pressures up to 18 p.s.i.g., the improved features which comprise injecting at least a substantial part of said gaseous fluid from two sides of the jet at zones positioned at substantially right angles to the direction of yarn movement through the jet, said zones of gaseous fluid injection being positioned substantially opposite from one another, and downstream from the zone at which the remainder of said gaseous fluid is introduced in an annular manner.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the gaseous fluid in the downstream zone is introduced at a slight deviation from a right angle to the direction of yarn movement, said deviation being in the direction of yarn movement.

6. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the secondary flo w of gaseous fluid is introduced into the venturi at an axial distance between /3 and of the length of the venturi from the exit end of the venturi.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the ratio of the pressure of the primary fluid flow to the pressure of the secondary fluid flow is in the range of 0.3 to 3.0.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,852,906 9/195-8- Breen 57157 2,879,948 3/ 1959 Seibel 2-3943 1 2,884,756 5/1959 Head 2'81 2,924,868 2/ 1960 Dyer 28-1 3,073,543 1/ 1963 Hampshire 239422 3,110,151 11/1963 Bunting et a1. 5734 FOREIGN PATENTS 993,215 7/ 1951 France.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner. ROBERT R. MACKEY, Examiner.

L. K. RIMRODT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A NEW JET APPARATUS ADAPTED FOR PROJECTING MULTIFILAMENT POLYMERIC YARN WHICH JET COMPRISES AN OUTER HOUSING MEMBER CONTAINING THEREIN A YARN INLET MEMBER AND A VENTURI EXIT MEMBER, THE VENTURI EXIT MEMBER COMPRISING A CONVERGING ENTRY PORTION, A CYLINDRICAL THROAT SECTION AND A LONG DIVERGENT EXIT SECTION IN SERIES, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A PRIMARY FLOW OF GASEOUS FLUID AROUND SAID YARN INLET MEMBER SO THAT THE FLUID CONTACTS THE YARN AS IT EMERGES FROM SAID INLET MEMBER AND FURTHER MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A SECONDARY FLOW OF GASEOUS FLUID INTO THE VENTURI MEMBER THROUGH AT LEAST ONE SMALL HOLE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY MID-WAY ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE DIVERGENT EXIT SECTION OF THE VENTURI. 